بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Disposal of a Purchased Commodity before Receipt and Rescinding of Bargains
-> The lawful disposal of a purchased commodity before receiving it
-> How a bargain is concluded and when it becomes illegal
We don't want to feed on Haraam nor do we want to feed others what is Haraam, that's why it's essential for us to learn this.
It's invalid to sell a purchased commodity before fully receiving it.
All the Imams uniformly agree on this.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "He who buys foodstuff should not sell it after he has received it with exact full measure" [Agreed upon]
Ibn Abbas considered this ruling for food to apply to all other commodities as well.
What's the wisdom behind this ruling?
Ibn Taymiya and Ibn AlQayyim said:
"The cause behind prohibiting the buyer to sell a commodity until he has completely received it, is the second buyers inability to receive the commodity.
The original seller may not deliver the commodity to the first buyer especially when the former sees the expected profit of the buyer after selling the same commodity to another person. In this case, the original seller might do his best to cancel the deal whether through rescinding or swindling."
If you know someone is interested in a merchandise, and you buy it from the seller with no guarantee that this person will buy it from you or not, it's completely fine.
How do I receive it?
This is where the differences arise. We know that there are so many different goods, and different ways to receive them. So it's important for us to know how to go about it.
If it's a measurement, it's by measuring it. If it's something weighed, it's by weighing it. If it's something you can count, then you have to do that. If it's a farm land, then it's by collecting the farm. Etc.
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرٍ فَكُنْتُ عَلَى بَكْرٍ صَعْبٍ لِعُمَرَ، فَكَانَ يَغْلِبُنِي فَيَتَقَدَّمُ أَمَامَ الْقَوْمِ، فَيَزْجُرُهُ عُمَرُ وَيَرُدُّهُ، ثُمَّ يَتَقَدَّمُ فَيَزْجُرُهُ عُمَرُ وَيَرُدُّهُ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِعُمَرَ " بِعْنِيهِ ". قَالَ هُوَ لَكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ " بِعْنِيهِ ". فَبَاعَهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هُوَ لَكَ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ تَصْنَعُ بِهِ مَا شِئْتَ "
Narrated Ibn 'Umar: We were accompanying the Prophet ﷺ on a journey and I was riding an unmanageable camel belonging to 'Umar, and I could not bring it under my control. So, it used to go ahead of the party and 'Umar would check it and force it to retreat, and again it went ahead and again 'Umar forced it to retreat.
The Prophet ﷺ asked 'Umar to sell that camel to him. 'Umar replied, "It is for you O Allah's Messenger ﷺ!"
Allah's Messenger ﷺ told 'Umar to sell that camel to him (not to give it as gift). So, 'Umar sold it to Allah's Messenger ﷺ. Then the Prophet ﷺ said to 'Abdullah bin 'Umar "This camel is for you O 'Abdullah (as a present) and you could do with it whatever you like." [Bukhari]
On the basis of the Hadith, some of the Scholars concluded you don't always have to put the merchandise in your storage, in your farm, house, and then sell. This is why the scholars differed in the understanding a few of the issues - in fact they've split into 7 different opinions:
1) The obligation of possessing it before you re-sell or purchase it again it is only with regards to food where Riba can take place. When the Prophet ﷺ spoke about Riba he mentioned certain foods like dates. So the scholars of this opinion said these foods and foods which can take its place fall into this.
2) It applies to any kind of food
3) It only applies to the food which can be measured and weighed
4) It applies to anything that can be shifted from a place to another place
5) It applies to everything
6) It only applies to things which are measured and weighed. This is different from opinion 3, because it isn't limited to food.
7) It applies to anything which can be measured, weighed, counted.
[By Ibn Rushd AlMaliki]
One standard which has been set by the Committee of Islamic Jurisprudence, is that in contemporary times there are many ways of receiving it:
-> By taking it with your hand, by weighing it, by measuring it, by shifting it from where you brought it to your storage.
-> Transferring the money through the bank; even if it's still in the bank, as long as it's theirs, even if they haven't taken it out, the good becomes yours. Some Scholars don't agree with this however.
المرابحة - You are interested in buying something and can't afford it, so someone else buys it, and you buy it for a price set aside by them.
E.g. You want to a buy a house. You approach the bank. The bank buys the house, and then you go into a contract with the bank and buy it from them. They may have bought it for a certain amount, and may add a sum according to the years you are required to pay them back. It is allowed provided everything is done Islamically.
The bank should have possessed the house before they sell it to you.
-> If you send an agent, who receives the goods on your behalf,
-> When the goods have been shifted from one place of storage to another
Etc.
The Rescinding of Bargains
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever accepts the demand of a Muslim to rescind a bargain, Allah will rescind his faults on the Day of Judgement" [Ibn Majah]
This Hadith encourages us to do good to one other.
Comments
Post a Comment